taking control

Like many people who work from home much of the time, I struggle to separate work and life - and to get that elusive work/life balance. It is so easy to just keep going into the study and answer a few e-mails or look up a website on this week's readings and before you know it another few hours have gone. I have really struggled recently to keep my working hours in check. When I started recording them I realised that a 14 hour day was not unusual. Now I accept that in this role they may occasionally be needed but I refuse to make 14 hour days the norm!

So I have tried to take control of my working life and limit the time I spend on it. But if I don't have a purpose for that time it will be so easy to drift back to work. So I am beading again - making more tiaras especially ( I am sure there will be more about that as they progress) and trying to take advantage of the sunny days to walk on the beach - a cliché but a good one. I have lived at the seaside for two and a half years and until 2 months ago could count on one hand the number of times I had been down to the beach and actually got out of my car. Now I go down and walk - and if I don't have long then I just do a short walk.

I am also leaning who I am outside my work. What makes me happy. What makes me tired. What brings me satisfaction. What feeds my depression. These were lessons learned the hard way 10 years ago but I seem to have forgotten them. Time to take control back!

Friday Five Spring Edition

"For this week’s Friday Five, tell us 5 things that let you know “Spring is here!!” In your part of the world. "

Definitely wearing sandals and being able to go out without a coat are joyous signs of spring to me, but also that people are looking up and smiling. In the cold of winter people seem to hunch into their coats and always seem dour (to use a good Scottish word!) but as the sun comes out they smile more.

I am not a great gardener (and that is a huge understatement) but I do notice when the grass is growing and the neighbourhood cat that likes to lie under my tree starts to look like a lion stalking through a jungle. 

Waking up early and feeling ready to face the world. In the winter I really have to drag myself out of bed some mornings but as the sun shines through the windows in the early mornings I have been up and at ‘em bright and early recently. I like starting the day that way.

Lighter, brighter colours are also all around. Not just outdoors but also in the shops and in people’s houses. I like bright colours.

Thanks for helping me to appreciate the signs of spring.